Crate



May 4,1926. 1,583,483

' I H. M. MORRILL CRATE Eilepl Ailgust 9, 1924 In 1 INVENTOR. 33 2 fl w /(/%rnil ATTORNEY.

Patented May 4,1926. 7

HENRY Mariam, or "rEKoNsI-m, M cnicAN.

CRATE.

Application fiieaau uses, 19,24. sen-rm. 731,052..

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, HENRY Iii. Moinnn i,

a citizen of the Unite'd St-ates, residing at Te'konsha, in the county of Calhoun and Stateof Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in a Crate, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in a crate and is particularly adapted for use with that, class of crates used as egg carriers and: has for its lobiect the provision of a crate of this class which will be simplein struetu-jre', eco-non' icail of manufacture and highlyefiicient in use and permit its folding upon itself so as to collapse into co mpactform and condition.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a crate of this class having colla psible or folding sides'pivotally connected to each other and provided with a novel arrangement of attachment which is highly efiicient inuse and aiiords a means of en-- gagement' with the bottom of the crate which is loosely positioned therein, and also aiiords an abutment for the top of the crate to form a foundation, upon which the top may rest when attached. in; operative posit-ion on the side members of the crate.

Another object of: the invention is the provision of a crate having a separate top adapted for loose positioning upon; the sides and provided with locking; means for reg taining the same in operative position upon thesaid sides. V Other objects will appear hereinafter. The; invention consists. in the combination and arrangement of parts; hereinafter descr be ide aim d, 1 The invention will be best understood from reference to the accompanying draws ings which form a part of this specificati n. and in i h. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention showing the crate assembled,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a top planview of the crate in collapsed'form with the. bot t omand top .re- 7 moved, 7 V

4, s a, gmenta y S tio Vi w illustrating the engagement of thebottom with the p v t nereo ee eit Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectionaly-iew of Fig. '4' with. the" bottom removed,

Fig. 6 is a plan View of the connecting member used at corners of the side walls,

1 f Fig. '7 is a-perspective view of a modified form of the invention with the bottom in folded position, 7

Fig. 8 is a perspective View of a modified form of the inventionv with the bottom in o )erative position,

Fig.1 9 is a fragmentary View tae bottom of the modified' form,

Fig. 10 is a sectional View taken suhstam tially on line 10-10 of Fig. .9. In the preferredforin, I have shown the invention adapted to a cratewhich may be utilised to good advantage as an egg carr er, in wh ch the cartons, having the individual egg compartments are positioned one upon another, so that, whenjtl'ie' crate is in use, filled' vith'eggs; the device serves as efficient carrier. The construction is such that when the device is empty, it may be; folded into a compact bundle so that it may he returned iii-shipment as a convenient- ,hugidle to handle and' one' occupying very little space. In this preferred form, the crate ismade'up from side walls, which are otequalfsize so as to provide a suhstair; tially'square crate. The purpose of pro illustrating viding the crate in substantially Sqilare form is toa'ccommodate snugly the cartons in which the eggsa're packed which are generally square. Each side wall comprises a cross member 15 at the top and a cross member 15' at the bottonrconneeting which are a number ofslats' 16 which'are spaced apart. The adjoining ends of the side Via-l'ls at the top and the bot-tom are in pivotal connection by means of a imetallic disc 17 which is pro vided with epenings 18 and 18, The disc is adapted for insertion into slits formed in the ends of the cross members 15 and 15 These ends have a hole drilled through them so that a cotter pinmay be extended there. through and extended through the holesilS and 18 lVhenthe side walls are joined together in this manner, the same may be folded upon themselvesin the form shown in Fig.

The top and bottom areloosely positioned in the crate sothat wh'en the deviceis folded into the -form shown i-nFig. 3, the top and bo m, may b str pp d Q he i e a te ed t he a e Pr p-e Q iSh Pm n- The ot om. compr ses a I plu al ty o l t w ich a e jo ne tes r by: aros m m ers- 19 atopposite ends. The bottom is so constructed that it will snugly fit into the inteill) rior of the crate in close engagement with the side walls. It will be noted in Figs. l and 5, that the member 17, on account of its circular form and specific arrangement in connection with the ends of the cross members, projects slightly inwardly of the inner surface of the slats '16 which are positioned in the side walls. Consequently, when the bottom which is loose is pressed down to the bottom of the crate, it will engage at its four corners against the upper surface of the metallic disc 1'? which serves to join the corners. In this way, the bot-tom of the crate is securely attached and prevented from being thrust outwardly from the sides of the crate and the load placed thereon when the crate is filled will be suflicient to keep the bot tom in position. It will also be noted that the bottom is thrust downwardly between the sides with the cross members 19 downwardly positioned, so that the bottom of the crate is raised from any surface on which the crate may be placed. a distance at least equal to one-half the clearance or height of the cross members inasmuch as the metallic joining discs 17 are positioned intermediate or at the medial line of the member 15.

. A cover is provided for the crate which comprises a plurality of slats 20 jointed together at their ends by cross members 21. As shown in Fig. 2, this cover or top is sub stantially the same size as the bottom so that it fits snugly between the side walls and engages against the inwardly projecting sector of the joining discs. In assembling the cover in the crate, it is placed with the cross members positioned downwardly so that these cross members engage the inwardly engaged portions of the joining links 17 to afford a firmer structure.

, It is preferred to form these cross members 21 and the slats 20 of material of such thickness as to clear the distance from the top surface of the joining link 17 and of the top surface of the cross members 15, so that, when the cover is placed in position, it will be flush or substantially flush with the top of the cross memberathe upper surface of the slats being but a slight distance above the upper surface of the'cross members 15.

-As shown in Fig. 2, the cover is provided with a handle 22 of any desired type. An eyelet 23 is mounted on one of the cross members 15 and securely fastened on the top of the cover is a. wire 2 which projects beyond its edge and is adapted to enter the eyelet and project slightly beyond the edge of the side wall as shown in Fig. 2. At the opposite side, slidably positioned in an eyelet 25 is a locking wire 26, having an angularly' turned portion 27. Mounted in one of the slats in alinement with the member 25 is a staple 28 which is bent over, as

.shown in Fig. 2. The locking member 26 is adapted for slidable movement in the eyelet 25, so as to engage in an eyelet 29 mounted in one of the cross members 15. The structure is such that when the angularly turned portion 27 is turned upwardly the locking member may be slid backwardly so as to ride between the separatedparts of the staple 28. lhis will permit a removal of the cover from the side walls. When it is desired to lock the cover in position, the locking member is moved to the position shown in Fig. 2 and the'angularly turned portion 27 turned downwardly, so that, the staple 28 will engage it and prevent slidable movement of the locking member 26.

in the preferred form, I have shown the invention adapted for use as a measuring basket or crate having the cross members positioned on the interior side of the-crate with the slats on the outside. The bottom 30, which is constructed as the bottom already described, is provided with an eyelet 31 in which engages a broken l nk 32 having one end pivctally fastenedin an eyelet 33, which is mounted on the cross member 15. The construction is such that the bottom is hingedly connectedto the side wall. in this structure, it is necessary that the crate be of rectangular form, so that the bottom, when folded upwardly so as to rest on its edge on the lower cross member 15, may rest snugly against the slats andengage the undersurface of the upper cross member 15. A suitable catch may be provided for retaining the bottom in this position, if desired.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of structure, I do not wish to limit myself to the precise form of structure shown but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: i

Acrate comprising plurality of collapsible side walls; a cover adapted for loose mounting within said side walls; a keeper projecting outwardly from one side of said cover and adapted to project beyond the outer side of said side walls when said cover is in operative position; an eyelet on one of said side walls for engaging said keeper; :1 slidable keeper mounted on said cover at the opposite side from said first mentioned keeper; an eyelet mounted on one of said side walls for engaging said keeper; and means for preventing the undue removal of said slidable keeper "from said eyelet.

In testimony whereof, I have signed the foregoing specification.

HENRY M. MORRILL. 

